January 27, 2014

NEW HOUSE: LIVING ROOM PROGRESS

Y'all keep asking to see more new house pictures so today I'm sharing a little bit of our formal living room. It seems I'm not the only one who is working slowly and you appreciate seeing me decorate in stages. Real budgets and real ideas take time. This is what our living room looks like now but I have big dreams for where the space will end up one day.

Our living room is huge. It is very long and narrow like you see in most older traditional homes. Such a large formal space just isn't practical for our lifestyle so we've broken the space up into
three zones. The bar. The lounge. And the study. Using furniture to
break up the spaces has really helped us to utilize the whole room which is nice. No one wants a room that you only use twice a year.

My
desk and our mail chest (where we keep bills) are all the way towards
the back of the room in zone three. We've got Tagg's train table in
that area right now but that's not permanent. This forces us to access
this room daily.

Zone one is the pass through to the
playroom and also where we keep our bar set up. I use an old chest I
found on craigslist instead of a bar cart because it holds more
bottles. I like how this gets people in this room when we entertain.

The
middle area in front of the fireplace is zone two. We've got a sofa
and loveseat squared off with the wing chair to create a cozy nook
facing the fireplace. I don't plan on styling the coffee table. Wells and Tagg are just too young to have things sitting out looking pretty at this age. It's really just a space for making puzzles at this point.

And just for reference, here is a look at the BEFORE pictures taken the day after closing. This room needed the least amount of work. We've painted everything in this room. The walls, (BM Classic Gray),
the ceilings (Lowes
White Ceiling Paint), and the trim (SW Designer White). We also added
white wood blinds to the windows. I'm still navigating the navy sofa
and loveseat. They came from my in-laws and are a great size and
shape. The dark color is out of my comfort zone but I'm okay with
that.

I love the division (and I love what you used instead of the bar cart)! It looks great. What happened to the curved sofa? I'm sorry if you already mentioned it and I forgot! I always end up with toys in each room (in some form or another) bc my kids love being where I am and refuse to stay in another room without me.

"Real budgets and real ideas take time" -- amen to that, sister! I can't agree with you enough on that point. It is clear that you have a plan in mind, which is really smart. In the meantime, the changes you've already made (paint, blinds) are important and have an impact for sure.

From one real budget/real time girl to another - I think you are doing a great job. It took me six years to get my living room to a good point, but that's where the fun is I think. Your house has my all time favorite layouts, its so classic and versatile. You have done a great job with the living room I think and you've got great things to build on. Have fun with it sister! :)

Julia, I love your living room! Really, I love it just as it is! Love the sofa pillows, the bar area and the pop of pink on those chairs! And for what it's worth, I've found my fiddle leaf fig to be anything but fickle! I expected it to be hard to keep alive, but a good amount of sunlight and minimal watering have worked great for me!

JUST MY STYLE

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